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new to rls...only 23

Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 5:17 am
by alyseeber
Hi everyone- I have been diagnossed w/ restless legs and I'm only 23. My doctors have been switching my medications but nothing is really working. I tried the newest requip and had a really bad reaction to it. I feel like I've been through all the tests and I'm getting pretty discourged. This has been the hardest time in my life and I'm severly depressed. I'm taking Klonpin and paxcil at the moment and I noticed a little relief. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I'm new to this website and I'm open to any suggestions /support. Thanks for reading.
alyse

Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:38 am
by Penguinrocks
Hi Alyse

Welcome. For support you've come to the right place! We are full of support. Also, a lot of suggestions have been made here. Take some time and read posts like under the prescription med site....take a look at the antidepressants see if the one your on makes the symptoms worse. I'm currently taking Neurontin and right now, things seem to be ok.

Will talk more later....gtg to work...ugh!

Penguin

Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 2:06 pm
by jan3213
Hi Alyse

I'd like to offer my welcome to this site, as well. You have found a great place for support, as you've already heard from our Penguin.

I'd like to offer this bit of reassurance. When I was first diagnosed and my doctor (a neurologist) was having a difficult time finding the right combination of drugs, he reassured me that there ARE drugs available that will help me. It may take awhile to find the right one for me. It's trial and error and every one of us is different. Even though the main symptoms for RLS are the same, it effects each of us a little bit differently. Therefore, we all don't react to the same treatment--whether it's medicaton or something you would do that might not involve medicaton--in the same way. Check out the non-pharmaceutical section in this site.

I still have problems, occasionally. But, since I've been a member here, I've learned so much more about RLS and myself. And I've been given the courage to talk to my doctor about my RLS--I'm determined to be a partner with him in my treatment. That's what this group has done for me.

Don't give up, Alyse. There is help and HOPE.

Jan

Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 2:57 pm
by Penguinrocks
As Jan said, there is always hope.

I totally agree with the trial and error thing. It brings truth to the statement that everyone is different.

One more statement that I agree with, this site and moreover, the people on this site have given me the courage to speak up. To make the doctors that I deal with KNOW what's going on and make them know I know more than what they would try and make me feel.

For that, eternal gratefulness to everyone here.....

You've found a wonderful home Alyse.

Love
Penguin

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 2:25 am
by ViewsAskew
Hi Alyse - RLS can be terribly difficult. We have had many people stop by in the last few months that are in their teens and twenties. Many of us who are older also had it then.

Here is my best advice. Go to this link:

http://www.restlesslegs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1068

In here you will find life style management advice, drug advice, and links galore to help you find out what you need.

This may seem overwhelming, but spending some time reading about this and finding out as much as you can from existing posts and sites will pay off immensely over time.

Welcome.

Ann

Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 2:12 am
by Mylo
Hi Alyse,

I'm 23 with RLS, as well. My doctor started me on Clonazepam. That stopped being effective, so he had me up the Clonaze some. Eventually that stopped being helpful to me.

Next, we tried Sinemet 25/100. This actually worked for about 4 months, which was fantastic for me. However, it started to be less effective, so now I'm on Sinemet 25/250 (going on 2 months now) and it's working like a charm.

I just started Wellbutrin (200mg) for depression. It's doing what it should, minus some mild side effects (dry mouth and shakes). My doc and I are hoping that both go away in a couple days, but if not we'll need to tweak the dosage. He's going to have me try the Wellbutrin extended release stuff, just to see if getting a steady amount will help (right now I take it at breakfast and dinner).

I've been rather frustrated, mainly when my drugs stop working as well as they should. It's frustrating trying to explain to collegemates why I take the RLS drugs, and sometimes I feel a bit self conscious in my relationship.

The point of my jibba jabba is that you're definately not alone in feeling frustrated and discouraged. There are a lot of drugs available to try, and it's pretty common (at least on these boards) to go through a host of drugs before finding something that works. If you wanna vent or whatnot, feel free to give me a holler.

And not to sound like a broken record, there is always hope. *hug*